2018

ROCKVILLE, MD – The Biophysical Society (BPS) has named Enrico Gratton, Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, as its 2019 Avanti Award in Lipids winner. Gratton will be honored at the Society’s 63rd Annual Meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center on March 5, 2019, during the annual Awards Symposium.Gratton is being honored for his more than 30 years of pioneering work in the development and application of spectroscopy techniques for the study of lifetimes in biological membranes, which led to the determination of membrane heterogeneity and membrane nanodomains.“The Avanti Award provides the Society the opportunity to highlight and reflect on a researcher’s career and his or her lifetime contributions to biophysics,” said BPS President Angela Gronenborn, University of Pittsburgh. “Enrico has been furthering our understanding of biophysics for over 30 years and we look forward to honoring his lifetime’s work.”The Avanti Award in Lipids, supported by Avanti ... [truncated at 150 words]

2016

UCI’s Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics has received a five-year, $7.2 million operating grant from the National Institutes of Health, marking 30 years of NIH funding for the lab. The LFD is a state-of-the-art facility that allows researchers to use fluorescence with advanced imaging technologies (microscopy and spectroscopy) to view live cells and study cellular processes. This can lead to a better understanding of cell function, with potential applications in diagnosing and identifying treatments for many human diseases, including Huntington’s, kidney disorders and cancers. The NIH grant will help the LFD continue its work creating new imaging technologies and techniques in fluorescence as well as support the dissemination of the latest advances in the field. Biomedical engineer and principal investigator Enrico Gratton says the LFD has pioneered microscopy methods to detect molecular aggregates and the movements of single protein molecules in live cells and tissue samples. “It is one of the ... [truncated at 150 words]

UC Irvine’s Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD) has received a five-year, $7.2 million operating grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This marks the 30th year of NIH funding for the lab, the country’s only national research center dedicated to fluorescence.The LFD is a state-of-the-art laboratory that uses fluorescence with advanced imaging technologies (microscopy and spectroscopy) to view live cells and study cellular processes. The research can lead to a better understanding of cell function, with potential applications in diagnosing and identifying treatment for many human diseases, including Huntington's disease, kidney disorders and cancers. The NIH grant will help LFD continue its work developing new imaging technologies and methods in fluorescence as well as support the dissemination of the latest advances in the field.Enrico Gratton, principal investigator for the lab and a professor of biomedical engineering, established the lab in 1986 while a professor at the University of Illinois ... [truncated at 150 words]

We delved into Dr. Enrico Gratton’s lifelong quest to develop new fluorescence techniques for unlocking the mysteries of complex biomolecules and their behavior in cells.Semrock: Your doctorate degree was in Physics, yet your thesis was on the acid denaturation of DNA – an unusual topic for a physicist. At that time, interdisciplinary science was quite new, was it not?Dr. Gratton: My thesis was all about the study of single molecules, which was very unusual at the time, but the work I began there was something I continued for the rest of my life. It is physics in some ways, but it is also biophysics. I always wanted to do biophysics, but always from the physics point of view. At that time, people would say, “What is biophysics? Is it physics? Is it biology?” At that time, there was a lot of discussion about this, and there were no courses in ... [truncated at 150 words]

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Harnessing a microfluidic technology initially developed by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, startup Velox Biosystems plans to develop a clinical diagnostic device for rapid identification of rare targets in complex raw samples, such as blood.The microfluidic technology, called Integrated Comprehensive Droplet Digital Detection, or IC 3D, was developed in the labs of UC Irvine professors Weian Zhao and Enrico Gratton. Velox was co-founded by Zhao and former UC Irvine postdoc Chris Heylman, who now serves as the company's CEO.Heylman told GenomeWeb that Velox believes IC 3D offers a unique approach to detecting and quantifying targets present at very low frequency amidst a complex background like a blood sample, both in terms of its position relative to standard molecular testing technologies, and its comparability to existing commercial microfluidic platforms.The approach essentially spatters a sample into micron-size droplets, each just bigger than a cell. Using DNAzyme-based ... [truncated at 150 words]

2015

UCI receives up to $5 million to advance bloodstream infection detection technology.

Federal program is supporting effort to combat antimicrobial-resistant pathogensIrvine, Calif., April 30, 2015 — A UC Irvine research team will receive up to $5 million to further develop a bloodstream infection detection system that speeds up diagnosis times with unprecedented accuracy – allowing physicians to treat patients with potentially deadly ailments more promptly and effectively.The five-year federal award is part of a ​National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases program to fund nine institutions that will create tools to identify certain pathogens that frequently cause infections in healthcare settings – especially those that are resistant to most antimicrobials.Advancing the development of quick and innovative diagnostic tests for identifying resistant bacteria is a key goal of President Barack Obama’s National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (pdf).Led by Weian Zhao, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, the UCI effort will employ his recently created Integrated Comprehensive Droplet Digital Detection system (IC 3D). ... [truncated at 150 words]

Today's post wraps up our brief review of 2014, with a summary of both technical and community developments. On the technical side, the Python language grew with the releases of Python 2.7.9, 3.3.5, 3.4, and, in August, 3.4.1. Major new features of the 3.4 series, compared to 3.3 include "hundreds of small improvements and bug fixes." Additionally, Python 3.4.1 has many more advantages. "One notable change: the version of OpenSSL bundled with the Windows installer no longer has the "HeartBleed" vulnerability." See python.org for more detailed information and to download any of these latest versions (as well as a Python 3 compatible version of PyPy).The PSF also saw a culmination of a lot of hard work in the release of our new website, pydotorg. This site serves as a main repository of all crucial information about the Python language (downloads of all versions, tutorials, documentation, new releases, ongoing developments, ways ... [truncated at 150 words]

2014

New technology can detect bacterial invaders with unprecedented speed, sensitivity.Irvine, Calif., Nov. 13, 2014 — A new bloodstream infection test created by UC Irvine researchers can speed up diagnosis times with unprecedented accuracy, allowing physicians to treat patients with potentially deadly ailments more promptly and effectively.The UCI team, led by Weian Zhao, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, developed a new technology called Integrated Comprehensive Droplet Digital Detection. In as little as 90 minutes, IC 3D can detect bacteria in milliliters of blood with single-cell sensitivity; no cell culture is needed.The work appears online today in Nature Communications.“We are extremely excited about this technology because it addresses a long-standing unmet medical need in the field,” Zhao said. “As a platform technology, it may have many applications in detecting extremely low-abundance biomarkers in other areas, such as cancers, HIV and, most notably, Ebola.”Bloodstream infections are a major cause of illness and death. ... [truncated at 150 words]

Michelle Digman examines microscopic fluorescent green buds that protrude from the surface of a human cell like pins pushing their way through the inside of pincushion. Under Digman’s microscope in the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics at UCI, this cell has been injected with VP40, the main protein that creates the Ebola virus that has killed nearly 5,000 people in West Africa since March. “These kinds of infections have spread before and can spread again,” warns Digman, co-principal investigator at the lab. Under Digman’s watch, the protein replicates itself thousands of times using the cell’s own machinery. It clusters near the cell membrane, bending that ultra-thin layer and pushing it outward in buds packed with VP40. Eventually, these buds drift away to infect other cells. What Digman – once a post-doctoral fellow in the lab she now helps lead – studies mimics the actual process that Ebola takes as it spreads ... [truncated at 150 words]

On most days, biophysicists go about their work with little public interest. The things they work on are complex, very specific, and impossible to see with the naked eye. Every once in a while though, biophysicists find their work in the spotlight due to public events such as a disease outbreak. With the ebola outbreak in west Africa in the news, the research of Biophysical Society members Michelle Digman, University of California Irvine, and Robert Stahelin, University of Notre Dame has attracted increased attention. Digman was kind enough to answer some questions about her work for us.

Society TO.

Shrink wrap used to enhance detection of infectious disease biomarkers.

CHEMISTS EARN TOP AWARDSThree UC Irvine chemistry professors are the recipients of the 2014 Physical Chemistry Division Awards from the American Chemical Society. Each year, the four members of the Society are honored with the awards that recognize outstanding achievements in the field of physical chemistry. Professor Ara Apkarian received the 2014 Award in Experimental Physical Chemistry for his experiments that provide visualization of making and breaking bonds in real-time. Professor Filipp Furche was named the recipient of the 2014 Early-Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry for his work on the development of electronic structure methods and computer programs. Douglas Tobias, UC Irvine professor of chemistry, received the 2014 Award in Theoretical Chemistry for his theoretical studies on ions.BIOMED ENGINEER GETS TOXIN STUDY GRANTUC Irvine assistant professor of biomedical engineering Michelle Digman has received a $787,000 grant from Allergan Inc. to study a subunit of the botulinum neurotoxin and its effects ... [truncated at 150 words]

Biomedical Engineer Receives Grant from Allergan.

The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine: News. 2014; Online.

Allergan has awarded Michelle Digman a $787,000 grant to study how a subunit of botulinum neuro-toxin affects cells and tissue on a molecular level. An assistant professor of biomedical engineering, Digman’s research expertise involves using optical microscopy tools to track molecules and microscopic particles in living cells and tissues. She is a co-investigator of UC Irvine’s Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, an NIH Biotechnology Resource for the development of fluorescence microscopy.With this grant, she will be using fluorescent imaging to track the transport and diffusion of the toxin in living cells, to better understand any biochemical and physiological changes that occur. She will also study metabolic changes in tissue at the point of injection.“Botulinum neuro-toxin is used in a variety of clinical treatments including neuromuscular diseases, epilepsy and pain-related illnesses,” says Digman. “This study is important on a clinical level and will provide valuable information in the development of future therapies ... [truncated at 150 words]

2013

Robert MacDonald Clegg (“Bob” Clegg), died of a recurrent cancer on October 15, 2012. He is survived by his wife Margitta, his sons Benjamin, Niels, and Robert, and by a large circle of friends, including those constituting an extensive scientific family of colleagues (Figure 1).Bob was awarded a PhD in physical chemistry from Cornell University in 1974. His research on rapid chemical kinetics induced by pressure perturbation was conducted with Elliot Elson, an originator of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS). The ensuing postdoc experience (with me) in the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry led rapidly to the establishment of an independent unit with Bob as a Senior Staff Research Associate.Bob exploited fully the unique facilities (technical and intellectual) provided by the Max Planck Society. He pursued numerous research topics, most often in very successful collaborations, and featuring kinetic and spectroscopic theories and techniques. Fluorescent ... [truncated at 150 words]

2012

The University of California Irvine's Center for Complex Biological Systems got its start just as there was a revolution in biology. Systems Biology requires that scientists work across many disciplines including engineering, physics and mathematics. The Center specializes in helping form the kinds of teams that will propel biological research into the future. It is also proud to be able to train students in the new interdisciplinary approach.

Robert MacDonald Clegg passed away October 15, 2012, at Carle Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, from complications arising from cancer. He died surrounded by his family, and he was never in pain. He is survived by his sister Victoria L. Clegg, his wife of 43 years, Margitta Clegg, and their three sons Benjamin F., Niels T., and Robert A. Clegg. Bob was a leading expert in applying fluorescence spectroscopy to biological problems, fluorescence lifetime microscopy (FLIM), and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) microscopy.Bob was born on July 18, 1945, in Providence, Rhode Island. He received his doctorate in physical chemistry in 1974 from Cornell University. Professor E. L. Elson supervised his dissertation entitled “Relaxation Kinetics Applying Repetitive Pressure Perturbations.” Following graduation, Bob worked as a postdoctoral research associate in the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. He was promoted to senior staff research associate in the Department of ... [truncated at 150 words]

Professor of Physics Robert McDonald Clegg, 67, died on October 15, 2012, at Carle Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, of complications related to cancer. He was surrounded by his family.Clegg was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 18, 1945. He leaves behind his wife, Margitta Clegg, three sons, Benjamin F. Clegg, Niels T. Clegg, and Robert A. Clegg, his sister, Victoria L. Clegg, and his daughter-in-law Jennifer J. Clegg with his unborn first grandson Henrik Robert Clegg. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert E. Clegg and Lois K. Clegg, and his brother, Douglas A. Clegg.In his research career, Clegg demonstrated a rare mastery of both biological sciences—specifically biochemistry and molecular biology—and physical sciences, and so was in a unique position to lend the methodologies and capabilities of each to the other.He was a gifted experimentalist and superb theorist who worked in many areas of biological physics. With ... [truncated at 150 words]

Michelle Digman wins Young Fluorescence Investigator Award.Michelle A. Digman, Ph.D., director of the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, received the Young Fluorescence Investigator Award at the Biophysical Society’s 56th Annual Meeting on February 25 in San Diego.As director of the LFD, Digman mentors graduate students in their research and conducts independent research on the extracellular environment and tumor metastasis in live cells. She also performs live cell migration studies in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space.The Young Fluorescence Investigator Award is sponsored by HORIBA Jobin Yvon, Inc. and is given to an outstanding researcher at the beginning of his or her career for significant advancements and contributions in using fluorescence methodologies. Digman’s achievements in her field include the development of the Raster Image Correlation Spectroscopy (RICS) method, the Number and Molecular Brightness (N&B) analysis, the pair Correlation Fluctuation (pCF) ... [truncated at 150 words]

2011

Enrico Gratton gave his research centre an aspirational and prescient name: the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics. When the lab was established at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1986, Gratton and his colleagues could make lipids and proteins in clumps of cells glimmer using fluorescent probes, but imaging moving molecules in individual cells was impossible. Yet Gratton had hope: “We put 'dynamics' in the centre's name because we knew we wanted to eventually follow the behaviour of molecules inside individual cells,” he says. With technological advances, Gratton can now do just that at the lab, which moved to the University of California, Irvine, in 2006. He can watch lipids aggregate and proteins exit membranes. His dream has been realized.Gratton and his colleagues are at the centre of a growing field focused on single cells. Improvements in microscopes, lasers, cameras, computers and fluorescent labels let researchers directly observe and measure ... [truncated at 150 words]

A trio of UCI biomedical researchers are the recipients of a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation. The funds will be used to develop a nanoscale imaging microscope capable of observing single-cell migration in vivo, which could provide new insight into how cancer cells metastasize in humans. The grant went to principal investigator Enrico Gratton, biomedical engineering professor and founder of UCI's Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, and co-investigators Michelle Digman and J. Lawrence Marsh. "This will support the engineering of a novel microscope that could inform the development of future cancer therapies," said Gratton. The Keck Foundation's grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in medical research, science, engineering and undergraduate education.

2010

In 2003, researchers at UC Irvine’s Beckman Laser Institute received a $7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to standardize use of a laser imaging device they had created for better detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. The investment is beginning to pay off.In January, the researchers reported in the journal Radiology that this laser breast scanner can accurately distinguish between malignant and benign growths, possibly offering an easy, noninvasive way to tell whether breast tumors warrant aggressive treatment. The study involved 60 subjects and will be replicated with a larger test group.Developed by Beckman Laser Institute director Bruce Tromberg and assistant researcher Albert Cerussi, the handheld laser breast scanner employs a sophisticated new analysis method devised by UCI biomedical engineering professor Enrico Gratton and graduate student Shwayta Kukreti that produces a spectral “fingerprint” of each patient.Unlike mammograms, the scanner provides detailed metabolic information by measuring hemoglobin, fat and ... [truncated at 150 words]

2009

Long Beach, CA—February 28, 2009—At this year’s Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in Long Beach, California, ISS announced the recipient of the Gregorio Weber Award for Excellence in Fluorescence Theory and Applications. ISS honored Dr. Robert Clegg for his significant and original contributions to the advancement and applications of fluorescence techniques.The award is named for Professor Gregorio Weber who pioneered the developments in the theory and use of fluorescence techniques. Dr. Clegg is committed to this tradition.Prof. Clegg graduated from Kansas State University in 1968 and conducted his doctorial studies at Cornell University where he was awarded the Ph.D. in 1974, under the supervision of Prof. Elson; his dissertation was titled Relaxation Kinetics Applying Repetitive Pressure Perturbations. Following graduation, Professor Clegg moved to Göttingen, Germany, where he started work as a postdoctoral research associate in the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. In 1976, he was promoted to Senior ... [truncated at 150 words]

2008

The University of New England has won a $252,000 grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for an investigation of a protein that suppresses the growth of cancers.Dr Pierre Moens, the project’s chief investigator at UNE, is an expert in the use of fluorescent markers to track the movements of individual molecules within living cells. His collaborators on the project, titled “Profilin: a novel target for cancer therapy”, are scientists based in the United States and Denmark, as well as in Australia.Dr Moens explained that profilin, a protein present in every cell of the human body, is found at lower than normal levels in breast cancer cells. “And if you increase the expression of profilin to above-normal levels, you reduce the aggressiveness of the cancer,” he said. “For this reason, profilin molecules are an outstanding candidate as a target for cancer therapy.”“We believe that the tumour-suppressing effect ... [truncated at 150 words]

Gary BoasOngoing research into intracellular reduction/oxidation (redox) systems is creating opportunities for understanding and manipulating the molecular basis of cancer. The redox environment contributes in significant ways to a range of cellular processes — for example, DNA synthesis, enzyme activation, selective gene expression, and cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Having the ability to sense the environment can provide insight into, and can help to control, those processes.Investigators are working to develop genetically encoded biosensors with which to monitor alterations in intracellular redox potentials in real time without disrupting the cells. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) offers one possibility. In a FRET-based biosensor, a redox event would lead to a conformational change in the sensor, which in turn would induce a measurable change in the distance between the donor and acceptor molecules. However, this option suffers from a lack of redox-sensitive linkers separating the donor from the acceptor molecules.In the February ... [truncated at 150 words]

The reductionist goal of cell biology is to explain cellular activities in physical-chemical terms. To do this, one needs to quantify molecular concentrations and aggregation states in living cells as they execute and regulate various complex processes.For a complex cellular activity like migration, which is characterized by highly localized, transient component processes, the need for high resolution spatial maps is essential. The currently available techniques only measure protein concentration and aggregation either for the cell as a whole or for limited number of points at a relatively few time points, thus blurring both spatial and temporal information.The method described by Digman, et al. uses fluorescence fluctuations to map molecular interactions at each pixel of an image. The novelty of this technique, termed the N and B analysis, is that quantitative information about the number of molecules and their aggregation states are mapped pixel by pixel. This method is fast and ... [truncated at 150 words]

2007

Measuring OxygenEnrico Gratton, head of the NCRR-funded Laboratory of Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD) at the University of California, Irvine, took a different track in bringing his discoveries to market. In 1984, Gratton founded the company ISS Inc. in Champaign, Ill., to make some of LFD’s technologies commercially available.One such technology, which has a broad range of applications in the clinic, grew out of a curious finding by the University of Pennsylvania’s Britton Chance, a renowned expert in the field of optical imaging and a friend of Gratton.In 1988, Chance’s group was working with near-infrared lasers to understand how different tissues responded to laser light. Chance discovered that the light took a fair amount of time to pass through the brains of the graduate students in the lab, but it passed through very rapidly when the laser was pointed at his own head.Chance was concerned that he might be witnessing the effects ... [truncated at 150 words]

Professor Enrico Gratton shares information about fluorescence across the globe.

Enrico Gratton, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, joined UC Irvine in 2006 after 30 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gratton is the principal investigator of the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD), a national research resource center for biomedical fluorescence spectroscopy supported by the University and by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.The LFD, founded in 1986, re-located from Illinois to Irvine, and is now housed in the Natural Sciences II building, employing about two dozen people. Scientists from all over the world visit the LFD to learn about the latest techniques in fluorescence research – including Fluctuation Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS), Raster Image Correlation Spectroscopy (RICS), Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM), 3-D Particle Tracking, and Frequency-Domain Fluorescence Lifetime Spectroscopy – and to take advantage of the LFD resources for spectroscopy, microscopy, biochemistry, cell culture and data analysis.As principal investigator of the LFD, Gratton is firmly committed to ... [truncated at 150 words]

After 28 years on the Physics faculty, Enrico Gratton retired in 2006. With William Mantulin, Gratton established at Illinois the first national facility dedicated to fluorescence spectroscopy, the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD). The LFD, supported by the National Center for Research Resources division of the National Institutes of Health, grew to become the premier national research facility in biomedical fluorescence spectroscopy. The LFD designed, tested, and implemented advances in technology, especially hardware, automation software, and applications, for the biomedical community. The state-of-the-art user facility was known internationally for developing instrumentation for time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy using frequency domain methods and providing technical assistance to visiting scientists.Gratton was born in Merate (Como) Italy and received his doctorate in physics from the University of Rome. He came to the University of Illinois in 1976 as a research associate under the direction of Gregorio Weber in the Department of Biochemistry. He joined the ... [truncated at 150 words]

2006

Enrico Gratton, Ph.D., a physicist who pioneered technology used to map out physiological systems, has been appointed to the UC Irvine faculty. As a professor of biomedical engineering in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Dr. Gratton will collaborate with other UCI researchers in the areas of engineering, medicine, physical science, information and computer science, and biological science, as well as faculty at the Beckman Laser Institute.In the medical field, Dr. Gratton and collaborators have developed non-invasive optical technologies that allow doctors to study brain function. Applications of these technologies include finding hematomas in children, studying blood flow in the brain during sleep apnea, monitoring recovering stroke patients, and studying attention deficit disorder in children. Dr. Gratton is also collaborating with BLI scientists to develop optical methods for breast cancer detection and clinical management.In the biology arena, Dr. Gratton uses fluorescence to better understand molecular processes in cells. Gratton heads ... [truncated at 150 words]

Are sunscreens always beneficial, or can they be detrimental to users? A research team led by UC Riverside chemists reports that unless people out in the sun apply sunscreen often, the sunscreen itself can become harmful to the skin.When skin is exposed to sunlight, ultraviolet radiation (UV) is absorbed by skin molecules that then can generate harmful compounds, called reactive oxygen species or ROS, which are highly reactive molecules that can cause "oxidative damage." For example, ROS can react with cellular components like cell walls, lipid membranes, mitochondria and DNA, leading to skin damage and increasing the visible signs of aging.When sunscreen is applied on the skin, however, special molecules – called UV filters – contained in the sunscreen, cut down the amount of UV radiation that can penetrate the skin. Over time, though, these filters penetrate into the skin below the surface of the epidermis, the outermost layer of ... [truncated at 150 words]

Are sunscreens always beneficial, or can they be detrimental to users? A research team led by UC Riverside chemists reports that unless people out in the sun apply sunscreen often, the sunscreen itself can become harmful to the skin.When skin is exposed to sunlight, ultraviolet radiation (UV) is absorbed by skin molecules that then can generate harmful compounds, called reactive oxygen species or ROS, which are highly reactive molecules that can cause “oxidative damage.” For example, ROS can react with cellular components like cell walls, lipid membranes, mitochondria and DNA, leading to skin damage and increasing the visible signs of aging.When sunscreen is applied on the skin, however, special molecules – called UV filters – contained in the sunscreen, cut down the amount of UV radiation that can penetrate the skin. Over time, though, these filters penetrate into the skin below the surface of the epidermis, the outermost layer of ... [truncated at 150 words]

UC Irvine's fledgling Department of Biomedical Engineering has recruited Enrico Gratton, a physicist who helped pioneer the use of fluorescent lasers in studying some of the tiniest and most important parts and functions of the human body.Gratton, 59, was lured from the University of Illinois, where he ran the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, a national lab that is being transferred to UCI, along with about $5 million in research money.UCI is trying to build a major program in biomedical engineering, or bioengineering, which is dominated to the south by UC San Diego and to the north by an emerging program at USC.Orange County is home to more biomedical device and instrumentation companies than any place in the nation.Irvine has respected figures like Bill Tang, who is trying to improve cochlear implants. But the department has about 13 faculty, making it a relatively small department.The Gratton hiring gives UCI "someone with ... [truncated at 150 words]

Enrico Gratton, a physicist who pioneered technology used to map out physiological systems, has been appointed to the UC Irvine faculty.As a professor of biomedical engineering in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, Gratton will collaborate with other UCI researchers in the areas of engineering, medicine, physical science, information and computer science, and biological science, as well as at UCI’s Beckman Laser Institute.“Essential to the interdisciplinary biomedical engineering effort is a strong network of faculty members with proven track records of building connections,” said Nicolaos G. Alexopoulos, dean of engineering. “Professor Gratton arrives with this track record. His scientific contributions are vast, spanning areas from physics to biology to engineering in medical applications.”In the medical field, Gratton has developed optical technology that allows doctors to study processes inside the body without having to perform surgery. Gratton’s research led to the development of a noninvasive diagnostic tool that can study changes ... [truncated at 150 words]

2005

Making the most of fluorescence. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and spectral imaging complement conventional techniques.

Fluorescence microscopy is ubiquitous these days. Open a life science journal, and you're bound to see photomicrographs in shades of red, yellow, green, and blue.Most of this work involves intensity analysis, inferring the abundance of a protein or magnitude of an event from the strength of the color. But fluorescent labels generate two other types of signals, too. One is the lifetime of the fluorophore's excited state; the other is the wavelength of its emitted light.Microscopists and microscope manufacturers have developed tools and techniques that allow researchers to probe these signals, enabling them to add depth and nuance to their studies. As a result, multiprotein associations can now be monitored, while autofluorescence worries are a thing of the past. But such improvements aren't cheap; lifetime-measuring equipment costs between €22,500 and €55,000, while spectral-imaging microscopes could cost $300,000 or more...By Linda Sage

Government and academic research labs are advancing fluorescence-based spectroscopy for medical and military applications.Fluorescence spectroscopy remains a powerful analytical technique for the detection and characterization of organic and inorganic compounds. Most of the power behind this methodology lies in its high sensitivity, but "also in its ability to adapt to a multitude of conditions and report on a wide range of effects, which has given it widespread usage," says Theodore Hazlett, director of the NIH-funded Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD) at the Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.Indeed, this versatility has allowed fluorescence spectroscopy to be employed in recent years in studies as diverse as identifying possible bacteria contamination on eggs to resolving the dynamics of human protein-protein interactions. It has also been increasingly used as a clinical technique in medicine.Shedding light on diseaseOne of the more recent demonstrations of fluorescence spectroscopy's prowess in this arena has been at the Biomedical Engineering ... [truncated at 150 words]

February 22, 2005 - The winner of the Weber Award was announced during the Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in Long Beach, California. The award has been consigned to: Prof. Enrico GrattonEnrico Gratton was born in Merate (Como) Italy in 1946. He received his doctorate degree in physics from the University of Rome in 1969. From 1969 to 1971 he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità in Italy. He came to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1976 and began his work as a research associate in the Department of Biochemistry. In 1978, he was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Physics of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). In 1989, he was promoted to professor. Dr. Gratton's laboratory has reached international recognition for the development of instrumentation for time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy using frequency domain methods.In 1986, Dr. Gratton was awarded ... [truncated at 150 words]

2004

Many people do their best work at night. For Dr. Antonios Michalos, his work sometimes keeps him up all night.Michalos, a physician and physiologist, is a senior research scientist at the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD))–founded by Professor Enrico Gratton–in the Department of Physics. About once a week, he pulls an all-nighter in the sleep lab, testing sensors he has developed that can help screen people at risk of vascular problems which could culminate in heart attacks or strokes."The medical community's growing interest in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) has created an opportunity for us to study brain oxygenation and hemodynamic changes in OSAS sufferers. For this investigation we apply the near-infrared technology our laboratory has developed in association with a Champaign company, ISS, Inc.," Michalos explained. He is the principal investigator of this research project which is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and ... [truncated at 150 words]

CHAMPAIGN - Testing of sleep apnea sufferers could prove to be a new market for scientific instrument maker ISS. The Champaign-based company learned last fall that it would receive a $750,000 research grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to explore the relationship between sleep apnea and vascular health.The principal investigator for the project, Dr. Antonios Michalos, is a medical consultant for ISS. He's also a research scientist affiliated with the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics at the University of Illinois.During the first phase of the project, Michalos developed sensors that could be used to help screen for people at risk of vascular problems. During the second phase, he plans to conduct sleep studies using "near infrared spectroscopy," a technique developed by UI physicist Professor Enrico Gratton...

Thanks to the generosity and vision of Agilent Technologies, the Department of Physics will soon have an advanced optical spectroscopy teaching laboratory to address unmet student needs for hands-on training with state-of-the-art instrumentation for life sciences research. With their gift of four uv-visible spectroscopy systems, fluorescence detectors, cuvettes, and control modules—nearly $100k of the latest equipment— Agilent will allow us to expand and institutionalize a novel new interdisciplinary laboratory course in advanced spectroscopy techniques. The course was successfully introduced by Professor Robert Clegg in 2003 using his own research equipment and drawing students from bioengineering, physics, biophysics, and molecular biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.In a letter of support, Erica Messinger, the Agilent University of Illinois campus manager, wrote, "This advanced spectroscopy laboratory, unique in its caliber, will serve as a prime opportunity to continue support for one of our top engineering colleges in the U.S. as ... [truncated at 150 words]

2003

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS—December 21, 2003—The medical research community's growing interest in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is creating an opportunity for studying the use of near infrared technology developed by the University of Illinois and ISS, Inc.This technology, OxiplexTS™, a non-invasive, near infrared tissue oximeter will be used to study vascular health of the brains of subjects in three Illinois sleep clinics. The scientific effort is being led by Dr. Antonios Michalos who is affiliated with the U of I's Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics and ISS. The project is being funded by a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, an arm of the National Institutes of Health. Michalos, a physician/physiologist, completed a short pilot study in 2003 in order to fund this latest effort. During that study, Michalos found that by subjects performing breathing exercises, he was able to screen the health of their brains' vasculature. He ... [truncated at 150 words]

2002

Despite the increasing number of sunscreen products on store shelves, the incidence of skin cancer continues to climb. The American Cancer Society says the rate of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, more than tripled in Caucasians between 1980 and 2002. However, two recent studies have found that properly treating clothing and adding stable antioxidants to sunscreen can reduce skin damage from ultraviolet (UV) exposure.Although experts recommend covering up in sleeves and pants to block UV rays, just how protective is clothing? In a study published in the May 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, researchers at the New York University School of Medicine measured the UV rays that pass through different T-shirt fabrics. White T-shirt fabric was washed and dried five times under home laundry conditions. Some samples were then dyed yellow or blue with liquid fabric dye or treated with Tinosorb, a ... [truncated at 150 words]

Roche Vitamins Inc. Newsletter on Vitamins and Specialty Ingredients for the Personal Care Industry.Contributing Editor: Kerry M HansonINTRODUCTION. Photodamage is cumulative, resulting from repetitive UV-induced photoreactions within the skin, which taken individually may seem trivial, but over the course of one's lifetime cause extensive damage to the cells of the skin. Case in point: one sunburn in childhood may seem simply inconvenient and uncomfortable, but also dramatically increases the risk of skin cancer later in life. Concurrent with advances in technology has come an understanding that UV radiation also induces effects, like immune suppression, lipid oxidation and mitochondrial activity in the skin, that are not detectable by eye following a day spent at the beach. And most worrisome, these effects, similar to tanning and sunburn, are responsible for photoaging, actinic keratosis and/or skin cancers.Recent research shows that such photodamage occurs, in part, due to photoreactions involving reactive oxygen species (ROS) ... [truncated at 150 words]

2001

Researchers at the University of Illinois (UI; Champaign, IL) are exploring the use of frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a noninvasive diagnostic tool to study changes in human brain activity. In one experiment, they demonstrated a correlation between hemodynamic (blood-flow-related) signals at the surface of the brain obtained with both NIRS and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—the standard technique used in brain activation studies.Based on the results, UI physics professor Enrico Gratton believes NIRS shows promise as a way to study brain activity without performing surgery on the skull (see figure). As another benefit, the technique is both simpler to use and less expensive than functional MRI and other noninvasive methods such as positron emission tomography."Whenever a region of the brain is activated—directing movement in a finger, for example—that part of the brain uses more oxygen," said Gratton. "Our technique works by measuring the blood flow and oxygen consumption in ... [truncated at 150 words]

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Sun-worshippers beware: Most sunscreen products offer inadequate protection against the harmful effects of the sun's ultraviolet radiation.But there is hope, says a University of Illinois researcher who developed a technique to peer into the skin and study how it is affected by ultraviolet radiation. The addition of antioxidants such as vitamins E or C can help prevent skin cancer and keep skin firm and young looking."Ultraviolet radiation is known to cause several forms of skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell cancer and deadly melanoma," said Kerry Hanson, a postdoctoral research scientist in the UI’s Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics. "But many important questions remain, such as in which layers of the skin, and in which parts of skin cells, the initial damage occurs."Sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 15 can block up to 94 percent of the ultraviolet light, Hanson said, but the residual light ... [truncated at 150 words]

A non-invasive diagnostic tool that can study changes occurring at the surface of the brain because of brain activity has been developed by scientists at the UI. The technique is based upon near-infrared spectroscopy and is simpler to use and less expensive than other methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography.“Whenever a region of the brain is activated – directing movement in a finger, for example – that part of the brain uses more oxygen,” said Enrico Gratton, a UI professor of physics. “Our technique works by measuring the blood flow and oxygen consumption in the brain.”The optical technique is fast and simple to use, Gratton said. First, light emitted by near-infrared laser diodes is carried through optical fibers to a person’s head. The light penetrates the skull where it assesses the brain’s oxygen level and blood volume. The scattered light is then collected by optical ... [truncated at 150 words]

Champaign, Ill. A non-invasive diagnostic tool that can study changes occurring at the surface of the brain because of brain activity has been developed by scientists at the University of Illinois. The technique is based upon near-infrared spectroscopy and is simpler to use and less expensive than other methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography."Whenever a region of the brain is activated directing movement in a finger, for example that part of the brain uses more oxygen," said Enrico Gratton, a UI professor of physics. "Our technique works by measuring the blood flow and oxygen consumption in the brain."The optical technique is fast and simple to use, Gratton said. First, light emitted by near-infrared laser diodes is carried through optical fibers to a person's head. The light penetrates the skull where it assesses the brain's oxygen level and blood volume. The scattered light is then collected ... [truncated at 150 words]

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A non-invasive diagnostic tool that can study changes occurring at the surface of the brain because of brain activity has been developed by scientists at the University of Illinois. The technique is based upon near-infrared spectroscopy and is simpler to use and less expensive than other methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography."Whenever a region of the brain is activated – directing movement in a finger, for example – that part of the brain uses more oxygen," said Enrico Gratton, a UI professor of physics. "Our technique works by measuring the blood flow and oxygen consumption in the brain."The optical technique is fast and simple to use, Gratton said. First, light emitted by near-infrared laser diodes is carried through optical fibers to a person’s head. The light penetrates the skull where it assesses the brain’s oxygen level and blood volume. The scattered light ... [truncated at 150 words]

... After these two opening talks, which literally were presented to a standing-room only crowd, we began the Young Fluorescence Investigator Forum. The opening talk was to be given by the winner of the Young Fluorescence Investigator Award (sponsored by the SPEX group of Jobin-Yvon, Inc.) followed by a shorter talk by Luis Bagatolli, Departamento de Química Biológica-CIQUIBIC (CONICET), Facultad deCiencias Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina.However, as it turned out Luis was the winner of the 2001 Young Fluorescence Investigator Award so he had the luxury of two time slots to present a wonderful talk entitled Looking at Lipid Domains in Free Standing Bilayers. In addition to the Award Plaque, Luis received a check for $1000 and joins an impressive list of YFI Award winners - congratulations Luis!

2000

When the NCRR-supported Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (LFD) was created nearly 15 years ago, it was the first national facility dedicated to fluorescence spectroscopy, and staff scientists focused on developing innovative fluorescence-based methods for analyzing biomolecules in solution. More recently, the laboratory has begun to broaden its scope and is developing additional laser-based tools that enable scientists to observe molecular interactions in living cells and tissues, gain new insights into cellular transport systems, and possibly even diagnose diseases noninvasively. As a national research resource, the LFD is available for use by the biomedical research community, usually at no charge...By Steve Mitchell

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Contrary to what scientists have long thought, recent experiments at the University of Illinois have revealed that flexible polymers stuck to a solid surface crawl around in a very different way than they would in the bulk. This is important because the properties of polymers at surfaces play a central role in issues as wide-ranging as adhesives, coatings and biomedical implants."A polymer in 'Flatland' may sound like science fiction, but every bulk phase is connected to adjoining ones through its surface," said Steve Granick, a professor of materials science at the UI. Flatland refers to the title of an 1880 novel by Edwin Abbott that takes place essentially on a flat surface. "By examining the characteristics of individual polymeric chains, we can better predict the behavior and performance of bulk polymers."As reported in the July 13 issue of the journal Nature, Granick and his UI colleagues -- ... [truncated at 150 words]

1999

ISS is awarded a phase I SBIR grant for the non-invasive study of functional brain activity.

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS—September 21, 1999—ISS, Inc. has been awarded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (an affiliate of the National Institutes of Health) a Phase I SBIR grant aimed at developing an instrument for the non-invasive study of functional brain activity.This instrument will use near infrared light to localize an activated brain area within a few millimeters and to reconstruct a functional map of the brain. What are the practical applications of this device? Let us suppose that a person, because of a car accident, suffers brain injuries resulting in the temporary loss of control of the left hand. The physician can localize the damaged area using a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) machine. This instrumentation is quite expensive and requires a team of well-trained people to operate. Besides, the patient is required to stand still during the test for about 20-30 minutes - a difficult proposition when ... [truncated at 150 words]

Daniel C McCarthyCHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Photonics is still a long way away from reading your thoughts, but a new optical scanning technique can at least detect where and when in your brain those thoughts are activating neurons. Unlike spatially resolved techniques for viewing brain functions, the scanner developed at the University of Illinois uses a time-resolved approach to provide images in real time.Physicists led by Enrico Gratton at Illinois developed the underlying technology to penetrate skeletal muscle, breast and brain tissue. That last application proved useful to a husband-and-wife team of psychologists -- Gabriele Gratton and Monica Fabiani -- at the University of Missouri in Columbia who are applying it to human volunteers. Gabriele and Enrico are brothers.Called Eros -- for event-related optical signal -- the scanner uses near-infrared laser light to produce real-time imagery of where in the brain neurons respond to visual and auditory stimuli. Test subjects wear ... [truncated at 150 words]

1998

With the number of cancer deaths in the USA topping 550,000 in 1997 and an estimated 1.2 million new cases expected in 1998, the need for more-accurate diagnostic tools and less-traumatic therapies has reached critical proportions. Fortunately, the last few years have seen important advances in diagnostic imaging, cellular analysis, photoreactive agents, and laser-delivery systems designed to enhance early cancer detection and even offer new treatment modalities (see Laser Focus World, July 1998, p. 83). Numerous optical-biopsy techniques and technologies are being developed for use in early detection of various cancers. This month`s column focuses on advances in optical diagnostics and therapies for breast and skin cancer.Breast cancerAlthough mortality rates are declining, the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 43,500 US women will die of breast cancer in 1998 (16% of all cancer deaths in women) and 178,700 (30%) new cases will be diagnosed. Studies have shown that early detection ... [truncated at 150 words]

An optical mammography technique developed at the UI now is being tested for more powerful diagnostic capabilities.The technique – which uses nearinfrared light to probe breast tissue for hidden growths – has the potential to distinguish between malignant and benign tumors, and could eliminate the need forpatients to undergo painful needle biopsies or expensive magnetic resonance imaging procedures.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- An optical mammography technique developed at the University of Illinois now is being tested for more powerful diagnostic capabilities.The technique -- which uses near-infrared light to probe breast tissue for hidden growths -- has the potential to distinguish between malignant and benign tumors, and could eliminate the need for patients to undergo painful needle biopsies or expensive magnetic resonance imaging procedures."Breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of death and disfigurement in women," said U. of I. physics professor Enrico Gratton, one of the scientists who invented the technique. "The best prognosis occurs when the tumor is caught while it is small. But early detection requires a reliable screening procedure."X-ray mammography, though commonly employed for breast cancer screening, suffers from a number of drawbacks that limit its effectiveness. "The procedure does not work well on younger women, whose breasts are radiologically dense," Gratton said. "And in ... [truncated at 150 words]

1995

During the past few decades, fluorescence spectroscopy has developed into an integral technique in many scientific disciplines. In the life sciences, it is implemented extensively in areas such as biochemistry, biophysics, and cell biology for a variety of applications, ranging from basic assay-related quantitative measurements to DNA sequencing. More recently, advances in instrumentation, laser technology, and fluorescent dyes (or probes) are aiding researchers in their efforts to better understand the dynamics of complex biomaterials such as proteins, membranes, and nucleic acids. Fluorescence- microscopy methods, for example, are increasingly being used to study the localization and movement of intracellular substances (H. Ahern, The Scientist, April 17, 1995, page 18)."Scientists like to use fluorescence spectroscopy for two reasons," explains William Mantulin, an adjunct associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics and the director of the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, a National Institutes of Health-sponsored research resource center at the University of Illinois. "First ... [truncated at 150 words]